Peru to Acquire SIGINT Equipment for Fokker 50 aircraft for $25 Million

Peru will acquire signals intelligence (SIGINT) equipment for its Fokker 50 aircraft for an estimated $25 million.

The government has asked companies interested in bidding to submit technical-economic proposals by December 26. A winner will be named three days later, Forecast International reported Thursday.

The Peruvian Navy acquired two secondhand Fokker 50s from the Royal Netherlands Air Force in September 2014. Both aircraft were incorporated into service in November 2014 and the Navy immediately began seeking to upgrade them with SIGINT capabilities. 

However, initial efforts to acquire the SIGINT equipment were scrapped after irregularities were discovered in the bidding process. It was found that responders to the tender did not comply with requirements to provide unspecified documentation. Although IAI Elta Systems and Paramount Group were disqualified for not providing the documentation, others, including Caledonian Airborne Systems, Dericheboarg Consortium, Protoplane, and SGD Engineering Ltd. were not, even though they also did not provide mandatory documentation. 

It is not clear if this tender will be more successful. Peru has been attempting to acquire the SIGINT equipment since it acquired the aircraft in 2014 and has been unsuccessful so far.